Less than one week after his Ducati debut, Rossi underwent surgery on Sunday.

Nine-time world motorcycle champion Valentino Rossi underwent surgery on Sunday in a bid to return to full fitness for the 2011 MotoGP World Championship with Ducati.

The focus of the arthroscopic procedure on Rossi, who suffered cartilage and joint damage to his shoulder in a motocross training accident back in April, was on the supraspinatus tendon and glenoid ligament.

According to the official MotoGP website, Rossi underwent the operation at the Cervesi di Cattolica hospital with a procedure performed by Doctor Alex Castagna from the Milan Humanitas Institute and shoulder specialist Dr Giuseppe Porcellini.

“The condition of the shoulder was really critical, Valentino really had to be tough to keep racing with that kind of injury,” the surgeons reported to MotoGP.com.

“The intervention went well, without any complications. For rehabilitation, you’d usually need 90 days for that kind of injury but we’ll do our best in order to meet the requirements of the rider.”

The surgery lasted for two hours from 11.30am to 1.30pm and the surgeons were assisted by Doctors Fabrizio Campi and Paolo Paladini.

Rossi will now remain in hospital overnight before beginning his rehabilitation in the coming days.

The next official test will take place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia from 1-3 February next year.